Craft tips, tricks, tutorials.

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Craft Ideas for Kids: CD Spinners ............................................................................................ 3 Craft Ideas for Kids: 4 Seasons Felt Board ............................................................................... 5

Craft Ideas for Kids: Blue Visor with Cookie ............................................................................. 9 Craft Ideas for Kids: Fabric-Covered Bead Teething Necklace .............................................. 12 Craft Ideas for Kids: Bag - Robot Tote .................................................................................... 20

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Craft Ideas for Kids: CD Spinners

These patriotic tops make festive Fourth of July party favors.

What you’ll need

Old CD

Large shooter marble

Glue, glue stick, or hot glue

Design templates

Markers

Scissors

Plastic bottle cap

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How to make it

For each top, set a large shooter marble into the hole of an old CD, securing it

with a generous amount of glue. We used Crafter's Pick The Ultimate, which

works well for joining nonporous materials, but you can use hot glue for quicker

results.

To re-create our top designs, print out the templates, color them in with markers,

and cut them out (cut out the center holes too). Flip over the CD and adhere the

template to it with glue or a glue stick.

For the handle, attach a plastic bottle cap to the center of the CD with Ultimate

glue or hot glue. If you use Ultimate glue, let it dry overnight before taking your

top for a spin.

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Craft Ideas for Kids: 4 Seasons Felt Board

This felt board craft is not only fun, is can be used any time of the year, not just

for holidays. Help your little ones learn about the changing of the seasons

through play and discovery. Using this felt board craft, you can keep the

background the same and change out the environment to reflect the weather

during different parts of the year.

This project is great for anyone, no matter where you live. If you are in a warm

climate where snow never falls, simply adjust the foliage and plant life pieces

that you create to reflect that. If snow is a common occurrence for you and you

don’t reach balmy temperatures, even in the middle of summer, simply adjust

your accessories to account for that. Make this felt board to coincide with your

seasons!

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Start out with a piece of cardboard. I always save the back off of a writing pad

when I’m finished with it, but cereal boxes work great too! Glue light blue felt

onto the cardboard for your base background. The land will be great felt for

warm months and white felt for snowy months. When you glue down the tree,

only glue the top half. That way you can lift the bottom of the tree to change out

the land.

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Cut out pieces for the trees and flowers, rain and snow, apples and blossoms,

you get the idea. You can even add animals and birds, whatever you want to do!

What you need:

8x10 piece of cardboard (back of writing pad, cereal box, etc)

1 sheet light blue felt

1 sheet green felt

1 sheet white felt

1/2 sheet brown felt

Various other colors of felt, scrap pieces work great

Scissors

White craft glue

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What you do:

1. Cover the cardboard with white glue and smooth it out with your finger.

Attach the light blue felt to the cardboard and trim any excess.

2. From the white and the green felt cut each sheet in half. From one half of

each color cut your “land” (grass for warm months and snow for cold

months). Do not glue the land to the board.

3. Cut a tree from brown felt. A simple trunk with several branches works

perfectly. Glue only the branches to the board, leaving the trunk of the

tree loose so you can lift it to change the land when changing the seasons.

4. Use various different colors to cut seasonal shapes from felt. Here are my

suggestions:

5. White – snow for branches, clouds, snowflakes, flowers

6. Gray – raindrops

7. Light green – early spring buds, flower stems and leaves

8. Dark green – summer tree leaf sections

9. Fall colors (green, red, orange, tan, brown, gold, yellow) – fall leaves

10. Green – spring tree leaf sections

11. Red – apples, flowers, fall leaves

12. Pastels (pink, yellow, light blue) – spring flowers, apple blossoms

13. Turquoise Blue – summer flowers

14. Purple – summer flowers

15. Store pieces in separate zipper sandwich bags by season. To attach,

simply place felt pieces on to the board and they will stay in place. Keep

the board flat on the table as pieces can fall off.

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Craft Ideas for Kids: Blue Visor with Cookie

Blue Visor with Cookie Kit

Foamies Royal Blue Visors

Foam White Circle Stickers

Foam Black 1/2″ Circle Stickers

Foam 3″ Tan Circle SHAPES

1″ Glue Lines

1) Peel and stick White Circle Stickers to the back of the top of the Blue

Visor. Center and keep the eyes close together.

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2) Attach White Circle Stickers to the front of the Visor (over the top of the

white circles attached to the back).

3) Peel and stick Black Circle Stickers anywhere on White Circles. Below they

are attached to the center of the white circles.

4) Attach 1/2″ Black Circle Stickers to half of the Cookie Shape. It is only

necessary to decorate 1/2 of the cookie (all that will show once it is attached to

the visor).

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5) Add a 1″ Glue Line to the top of the tan circle shape (cookie).

6) Attach the Cookie shape anywhere under the Blue Visor. Below the cookie

is attached to the side of the visor. Press to secure.

7) That’s it! These are ready to wear… Let the party begin!

Add child names to the inside of visor with Black Sharpie or Foamies

Marker.

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Craft Ideas for Kids: Fabric-Covered Bead Teething Necklace

This is a practical and pretty project – and a great present for new mums. Made

with non-toxic materials, it doubles as a gorgeous accessory as well as a handy

teether for babies. I made this necklace for a friend and her baby, and you can

learn how to make it too – just after the jump.

Supplies

7 chunky wooden beads (about 3.5cm or 1.5 in. each).

1.5 metres of fabric in the print of your choice (you might like to use

organic cotton).

Thread and needle or sewing machine.

Scissors.

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Step 1: Cut Fabric Into One Strip

Start by cutting your fabric into one strip 10cm (4 in.) wide and 1.5 metres (59

in.) long. Choose a cotton fabric with a colourful print or pattern that will not

only look nice, but also get baby’s attention.

Step 2: Fold Fabric in Half

Fold the strip of fabric in half length-ways. The ‘good’ side of the fabric should

be facing inwards .

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Step3: Sew a Seam

Now all you need to do is basically turn the strip of fabric into one long tube.

You can do this by making a seam along the long side of your fabric strip. If you

plan to sew by hand, it would be best to sew using back-stitch. Of course, you

could save some time and use a sewing machine instead.

Take care not to sew the two short sides of the tube – leave them open for now.

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Step 4: Turn the Fabric Τube Inside Out

Turn the tube inside out. Use one hand to hold one end and pull out the tube

with the other hand.

Step 5: Knot One End

At this point, you should have a tube of fabric 1.5 metres long, with the correct

side of the fabric facing outwards and the seam hidden inside.

Now leave about 35cm (13 in.) from one end of the tube and make a firm knot.

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Step 6: Slip a Bead in the Tube

Open the longer end of your tube and slip the first bead inside it. Push the bead

through until it reaches the knot.

Step 7: Knot

Once the bead is as close as possible to the first knot, make another firm knot

after it to keep it in place.

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Step 8: Repeat

Continue adding all the beads inside the fabric tube and knotting. If your beads

are a bit flat like mine, make sure they are all oriented the same way before

securing their position with a knot.

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Step 9: Place One End Inside the Other

Once all seven beads have been knotted inside the tube, check that the two

remaining ends of fabric are of equal length. Try it on and figure out the desired

length.

Once you’ve decided on the length of the necklace, take one end and fold a

small length of fabric inwards.

Then, insert the other raw end of the necklace inside it.

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Step 10: Close

Straighten the two ends and make sure they are well aligned before sewing it

together, using the back-stitch. Use thread in a colour that complements your

fabric, as this seam will be visible. When you’ve closed the seam, secure with a

knot and cut the thread.

Alternatively, you could finish the necklace by cutting each end of the necklace

in to three equal strips and creating braids which could be sewn together. Or you

could always sew a piece of ribbon to each end and tie it in a bow.

Now your adorable necklace is ready to wear – and bite!

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Craft Ideas for Kids: Bag - Robot Tote

This Sewing pattern shows you how to sew a very cute robot bag.

1. Cut your fabric into a 30”x19” piece. This will be folded in half and

become the tote bag.

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2. Cut 1 6”x9.5” piece of grey felt and one 6”x8” piece of grey felt.This will be

the robots body.

3. Follow the pattern and cut out the robots features. His eyes white, pupils

black, the bottom part of his antenna is grey, the circle red, the bolts are blue and

the buttons are red and blue.

4. Following the picture, Pin the felt robot pieces down onto the front of your

tote bag.

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5. Using either a sewing machine or a needle and thread, applique the robot

down using a blanket stitch. Stitch down his body and all of his features except

for the bolts, which I suggest sewing down only the edge that touches the robot

and leave the rest unstitched. This lets them be more 3d and flop around a little.

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6. Hem the top 2 edges of your tote.

7. Cut 2 3”x40” pieces from fabric, Fold them in half (pin them in half so that

they don’t open up.) and sew down the long side, creating a long tube. Flip the 2

tubes right side out.

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8. Pin the edges of your handles to the top inside of your tote and stitch them

down.

9. Fold your tote bag in half, right sides together, and stitch up the 2 sides,

finishing the tote bag.

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Thank you for watching!

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